3.6l Nav 3rd Row Seats One Owner Garage Kept Smoke Free Excellent Condition on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ford GT, Buick Avenir and Audi Q7 take 2015 EyesOn Design awards

The annual EyesOn Design Awards at the Detroit Auto Show allows some of the greatest designers in the world to weigh in on the best production and concept debuts at the big event each year. For 2015, the large panel of judges included luminaries like Frank Stephenson of McLaren, Ralph Gilles from FCA and Moray Callum of Ford. Apparently the editors at Autoblog had a good eye because the winner of 2015's Best Designed Production Vehicle award went to the Ford GT, which was also our favorite debut from the show. The new supercar beat the Acura NSX and Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class Coupe for the honor. The judges described the Blue Oval's shape as "capturing the original GT40 in a modern interpretation," according to EyesOn Design. The Buick Avenir was also a big winner in the awards this year and received the nods for both Best Designed Concept Vehicle and Innovative Use of Color, Graphics and Materials. In the concept category, it beat out the Chevrolet Bolt and Mercedes-Benz F 015, and in the latter group, the sedan triumphed over Audi Q7, Mercedes F 015 and Volkswagen Cross Coupe GTE. The Q7 received its own accolade for Best Designed Interior, and it beat the Avenir and Infiniti Q60 for the honor. This year's Lifetime Design Achievement Award went to former Renault designer Patrick le Quement, and Bob Lutz received the EyesOn Design Catalyst Award for the second time. The honor is for an executive "who has empowered great design," according to the organization, which describes Lutz perfectly. Scroll down to read the announcement with more comments about the winners. Related Video: Ford, Buick, Audi recipients of EyesOn Design Awards at North American International Auto Show EyesOn Design Awards for Design Excellence for 2015 were revealed today at the North American International Auto Show. The awards honor the most significant automotive designs revealed at NAIAS as determined by the North American and global leaders of design from automotive manufacturers, along with academic chairs of transportation design programs and design leaders from other fields.

2013 Buick Encore nets strong IIHS, NHTSA safety scores

After being crushed from every which way and rolled over like a labrador, the 2013 Buick Encore has been named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. To earn the accolade, a vehicle must achieve the highest rating of "Good" in each of the institute's four main crash tests: Front Moderate Overlap, Side, Rollover and Rear. The Encore aced those four tests with "Good" ratings, but missed out on the coveted Top Safety Pick+ designation by receiving a Poor rating in the institute's new Front Small Overlap test. To be named a Top Safety Pick+, the Encore would need to score at least an "Acceptable" rating in the new test, as well as "Good" in all four original crash tests.
Despite the miss, the Encore joins the Enclave, LaCrosse, Verano and Regal as Top Safety Picks all. If you count only the Encore with all-wheel drive, then all five Buicks have also earned five-star overall ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration, making Buick one of the few manufacturers to offer a full lineup with high scores from both safety rating organizations.
The front-wheel-drive Encore, despite performing equally as well as the all-wheel-drive version in NHTSA's crash tests, only earned four stars overall. As far as we can tell, the discrepancy between the two is because some safety equipment, like Forward Collision Warning and Lane Departure Assist, are optional features on the FWD Encore and standard on the AWD model.

GM expanding Lansing Lambda CUV plant

Considering that crossovers are a rapidly growing portion of the US auto market, it's not surprising to hear that General Motors is preparing to build even more of them. The company is investing $63 million to expand its Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant that builds Lambda platform CUVs like the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave.
According to GM, the expansion will add roughly 263,000 extra square feet of space to the plant. Of that, 181,000 square feet will be for an updated body shop with cutting-edge robots. There will also be 54,000 square feet of additional room in the paint shop and 28,000 square feet of more area for general assembly.
GM isn't saying as much, but there is the possibility that this extra space could allow for additional models produced at the factory. Cadillac reportedly dropped plans to build a three-row SUV on the Lambda platform earlier this year, however, dealers for the luxury brand were recently pitched the possibility of adding large and small CUVs, an ATS convertible or a sedan below the ATS.